Luke E.T. Hindmarshhttp://lukehindmarsh.com
Vision of Dark Futures and Darker DreamsTue, 20 Feb 2018 13:29:58 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.4Scars of the Sand by Frank Dorrianhttp://lukehindmarsh.com/book-reviews-blog/scars-of-the-sand-by-frank-dorrian/
http://lukehindmarsh.com/book-reviews-blog/scars-of-the-sand-by-frank-dorrian/#respondFri, 08 Sep 2017 22:11:46 +0000http://lukehindmarsh.com/?p=413I’m not familiar with the works of this author – I heard about this book through social media. I’m very pleased I listened to that recommendation. Scars in the Sand is a brutal, yet well-written, story. It’s short and clearly leads into other books by the author but that is no bad thing. Frankly (excuse the pun, I couldn’t help myself), I think that anyone reading it will want to read more. Let’s break it down:

Setting:

This is mostly within a slave pit in a location that feels a little like one might imagine a gladiatorial ring in an Arab country would have been like. Think somewhere between Gladiator and the pit-fighting in Conan (the original Schwarzenegger film not the Momoa one). Then there’s some flashbacks to how the protagonist got to where he is. Despite the necessarily narrow confines of the setting, the author manages to create a sense of the world outside. Hints of deeper political conflicts and a promise of what is to come later. If I’ve understood correctly, this is more of an origin story for one of the author’s established characters. It works wonderfully.

9/10

Characters:

The MC, called Harlin, is tough, bitter and hard as nails. And he’s young (but this is quite clearly not YA) – how young you need to find out from reading, though I found it believable. His attitude could have made him unappealing, but this is one of the things that impressed me most. The writer has the skill to take a withdrawn and obviously damaged young man and make us sympathize with him – see past the pain and anger to really engage. The length of the book isn’t enough to see a full character arc but it is enough to get a sense that there is (or will be, I don’t know yet as I haven’t read the other books, but we’ll return to that…) a well-developed arc for Harlin. He is a round character, not flat. A character that felt alive and vital rather than just a caricature. I feel like the writer has an excellent grasp of what makes people tick and how someone would react to trauma. Top notch!

10/10 (I’m not kidding!)

Plot

This is a potent and to the point. Harlin is a slave gladiator. Will he survive? Will he escape? Will he get vengeance? It’s in the execution of the plot that it excels. Was I gripped? Yes. Did I want to know what happened next? Yes. Did I know what was going to happen next? No. A tight, well-executed plot with plenty of surprises that left me wanting more.

9.5/10

Prose

This doesn’t matter to everyone. To me, it’s vital. I find it difficult to read stories if the prose isn’t up to scratch. Doesn’t matter how compelling the tale (and this is compelling) if the writing is poor, I can’t carry on with reading. That’s not a problem here. Couldn’t be farther from it, in fact. I find the style of the author’s prose to be tight, sharp and adept at conjuring the events and characters for me.

9.5/10

Overall:

I (insert your swear word of choice for emphasis here) loved this book. It’s definitely on the grimdark scale (GDAF for those in the know) but lacks some of the pitfalls of other books in the genre. This isn’t brutality just to shock you. Every element of the story has been well-crafted to deepen your connection to Harlin and the world he inhabits. It’s grit and grime as a reflection of reality. The psychology of the main character feels real to me. I’ve mentioned that I think this is a sort of prequel to a book or series that I haven’t read as yet. Reading this makes me want more by this author and more in the world and with the vivid characters he has created. You’ll feel the same.

Wraith Knight is the second novel by C.T. Phipps that I’ve read after the excellent Lucifer’s Star. That book and this seem to echo each other in several ways. I went away feeling that Wraith Knight was the superior tale and that is saying something. The general theme of both novels is an exploration as good and evil as colours on a continuum instead of as diametrically opposed. This is Grimdark Fantasy and I say that as a compliment. It’s at the morally complex end of the subgenre instead of the crass, “blood, guts and genitals” end.

Setting

This is a satisfying mix of original ideas and classic elements of fantasy worlds. Formor and Sidhe instead of orcs and elves. Knights on dragonback. Powerful mages and magic weapons galore. It’s a world that is recovering from the defeat of the King Below (more Morgoth than Sauron to my mind but that’s splitting hairs). Technology and magic have kept pace with social progress but those changes conceal a society that’s rotten to its core. Slavery abolished in name, but little real change for the masses. A religion of the Light that is prejudiced against those who have innate abilities with the wrong kind of magic, even though that magic is not in itself evil or good. The fantasy tropes are subverted with only a few remaining barely intact as anchor points for the reader. I found it an excellent mix of ideas old and new. I can’t help but reference Lucifer’s Star here. There is a strong overlap in the sense of the worlds that are built extending beyond what we’re shown in the books. It’s clearly one of this author’s strengths: creating worlds that feel as if they operate outside the direct needs of the story.

10/10

Characters

Phipps excels at characters. They live, they breathe, and they act in unpredictable but consistent ways. There is very little use of caricatures, those flat characters that are just window dressing. Regina, Serah, Creature, Jassa and even minor characters like Creature’s daughter and her husband are well rounded. I was particularly impressed with the characterisation of the Trickster. Managing to make the disembodied voice of the god of evil, the so called King Below, nuanced and at times sympathetic is sheer class. Jacob Riverson, our wraith knight main character, is a complex fellow. He reminds me a bit of that Meatloaf song, I’d do anything for love… Riverson would do anything to win, to drive back the darkness but just like the song … he won’t do that. What is it he won’t do? Well, commendably, he won’t kill children. That this is an issue for the forces of Light at any point gives you an idea of the moral ambiguity at work in the story. Then of course, there’s the whole ‘Oh, no I’ve been serving the Dark Lord for the last few centuries’ angle to him as a character. This could easily go wrong in one of two ways. Either a character who spends all his time whining about the past or one who doesn’t care enough about it. Here, we’re kept on that knife edge balance point between too much soul searching and not enough. To the author’s credit, Jacob never descends off that edge — there’s reflection and more importantly, a change in the behaviour and the goals of him as a character as he comes to terms with what he’s done, both before becoming a tool of evil and during that time.

Characterisation – absolutely top notch!

10/10

Plot

As always, hard to talk about without giving too much away. What I’ll say though is this: it’s often trotted out that there are only a few possible plots and that it’s the execution of them that differs. This feels like the author is trying to break out from those tramlines. The plot is complex, but that’s a good thing. It’s not the tired old fantasy cliché of kill the big foozle using the magic acorn held by some wool-footed short people who are tougher than they look. Or rescue the [insert vulnerable McGuffin] from said big foozle. That much is obvious. It’s more about finding meaning and a place in the world. Jacob waking up to what he is, and what he needs to be.

I think that the plot suffers a little in the sense that this is a character driven story rather than plot driven. I think that is an excellent thing but it does mean that the plot isn’t quite as awesome as the characterisation and the setting. One thing to note, the story is complete in itself but clearly leaves the way open for a sequel/sequels. Again an example of this author getting the balance right.

9.5/10

Prose

This is, as with Lucifer’s Star, solid and smooth. Dialogue reminds me at times of Joss Whedon’s style in things like Firefly. There are pop culture references but these are woven in skilfully without being jarring. For example, the reference to Terry Pratchett as a playwright in the setting Terence Pritchard is amusing but doesn’t take the reader out of immersion. On the other hand, the prose is nothing ground-breaking. It won’t carry you away with its beauty but it’s good enough to channel you into the world. This is not meant in anyway as a criticism — the prose is easily the equal of someone like James Patterson or George RR Martin. In fact, it’s better than GRRM’s.

Very Good writing without being in the artistic top bracket. For comparison: GRRM would get 8/10, Joe Abercrombie would get 9.25.

9/10

Doing some quick arithmetic shows that I thought very highly indeed of this novel. It’s a rating which it thoroughly deserves and higher than most others I’ve given. Best bit of the whole book? Getting to the last page and seeing that there’s a sequel called Wraith Lord. You can be sure I’ll be reading it and, if you read Wraith Knight, I’m pretty sure you’ll be rejoicing at the thought of a sequel too!

9.75/10

Giving 5 stars on Goodreads and Amazon

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http://lukehindmarsh.com/blog/364-2/#respondSun, 23 Jul 2017 12:22:09 +0000http://lukehindmarsh.com/?p=364’++Control, this is strike team Charlie Niner. Repeat, strike team Charlie Niner. Device is deployed. Heavy casualties suffered. Officers and senior NCOs all dead. Request evac co-ordinates. Control, do you read? Over. —–Static—— Control this is Lance Corporal John Kamdar, International Task Force, strike team Charlie Niner. Serial number —-static—- dead, evac shuttles are not landing, repeat the shuttles are not landing —-static—- Control, God damn you where is our evac? Those bastards aren’t com—-high pitch whine identified as explosive decompression—-static. Signal ends++’
ITF intercept appended to Veteran War Record serial number 29052087SigmaTau.
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http://lukehindmarsh.com/blog/362-2/#respondSun, 23 Jul 2017 12:21:44 +0000http://lukehindmarsh.com/?p=362‘My fellow Americans. Our worst fears have come true. They have unleashed the Plague to end all plagues upon us. They have turned our technology, our protection against us. There is only one way to stop this. I hope that enough of you survive the coming cataclysm to forgive me, to forgive us for failing you. May I suggest that you pray to God, in whatever way you keep him and hold your family close. I promise you this: our vengeance is already begun. God bless America, God save us all.’
Final address to the Nation by the last President of United America, Esperanza Rosario.
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http://lukehindmarsh.com/blog/360-2/#respondSun, 23 Jul 2017 12:21:23 +0000http://lukehindmarsh.com/?p=360‘One more shipment. Please. I know what I’ve done wrong this time. I can fix it. I’m so close to healing the Mother here. What do you mean squandered? But I’ve run out of food and water too. I’m not ready to give my flesh back to the soil. No, please listen to me and send another shipment.’
Martyr communication to Moskva Plenum Temple, fragment retrieved from purged records by dissident. Offender recycled, Martyr’s status unknown.
]]>http://lukehindmarsh.com/blog/360-2/feed/05 Stars from a Bestselling Author! Neat, neat, neat!http://lukehindmarsh.com/blog/5-stars-from-a-bestselling-author-neat-neat-neat/
http://lukehindmarsh.com/blog/5-stars-from-a-bestselling-author-neat-neat-neat/#respondSun, 23 Jul 2017 12:20:50 +0000http://lukehindmarsh.com/?p=358